Holy Name Parish Center School principal Patricia Wardell said she is “absolutely” certain that Catholic education will continue to be viable in the city.

“I think more and more people are seeing the need for religion in their life,” said Wardell.

And for their children, they get the moral foundation that a Catholic education provides. Wardell left a lifelong career in public education to become principal at Holy Name nine years ago.

But reality hasn’t been easy for the city’s Catholic schools. Enrollment has been on the decline, and costs haven’t gone down with it.

The necessity of keeping up-to-date with technology has ensured that.

Parochial school teachers make “a fraction” of the salaries earned by their public school peers, said Wardell. But schools get the freedom of not having state testing and state standards requirements.

When Saints Peter and Paul School shuttered its doors for good last month, it left the city with five remaining Catholic elementary schools and one Catholic high school.

That school’s closure was due to dwindling enrollment, despite efforts to revamp its structure and curriculum.

Some of those students will attend Holy Name in the fall, which so far has 238 students enrolled for the coming school year. A few seats remain open at Holy Name, and enrollment numbers have remained consistent throughout the decade, probably helped by the closure of other schools. Five years ago, the Saint Anne School and Notre Dame de Lourdes School both shuttered their doors.

But the diocese’s remaining schools are still in a strong position, insists superintendent Michael Griffin.

“Our schools overall have done well,” said Griffin, adding that leaders at Diocesan schools were looking at ways to keep up enrollment numbers, including how to retain existing families and attract new families.

“I’d say there are a few basic strategies,” said Griffin. “One is to continue to express to the public what makes Catholic schools unique.”

A question parents typically would ask, according to Griffin, “Is this really worth it?”

It’s not easy question to answer. The cost to receive a Catholic education is an obstacle for many families, especially in urban areas struck especially hard by a woeful economy.

At Holy Name, for example, a family with three children in the school incurs a total tuition cost of $10,000 for those students.

Schools, outfitted with new technology periodically, have seen their costs increase. In turn, tuition has incrementally increased.

Griffin is steadfast in his belief that a Catholic education is worth the cost. He looks to the schools’ focus in justifying his belief: the schools are “focused on faith formation, as well as really strong academics. The value of a school is achieved based on how well our students do academically.”

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“Word of mouth is probably still our major, most significant factor,” said Griffin, adding that parents are attracted to the emphasis on discipline, order and “good academics.”

Wardell said families are loyal, especially at the elementary schools. “They come here for the foundation,” she said.

Faced with a dwindling Catholic population, schools have reached out to non-Catholics. Griffin said at least 10 percent of the student population of Diocesan schools falls into that category. Those schools have also varied their income streams.

They are involved in more fundraising programs and solicit and receive support from alumni.

That alumni support has added up to about $500,000 in need-based scholarship funding for the St. Mary’s Education Fund. Many of the schools have their own financial aid programs.

The schools have also tapped into other “activities that tend to draw larger incomes, like auctions,” said Griffin. “Our schools have been pursuing those more.”

Tuition at Catholic schools range as low as $3,450 at Holy Name to as much as $8,200 a year at Bishop Connolly High School.

The diocese has also continued efforts to persuade lawmakers to enact tax credits for private education.

“We’re looking for those initiatives,” said Griffin. “We believe that Massachusetts could do much more. We do believe that could help our families.”

“Overall we see our schools continuing,” said Griffin, “but frankly we need the support from those who have benefitted from receiving a Catholic education.”